Sponsored App Review: 3CX Mobile Device Manager

These days, our smartphones are more than just a way to watch videos on YouTube, or connect with friends. For a lot of us, they’re serious tools for us to keep in touch with people when we’re away from the office. Thanks to the mobile internet, we can now be kept in the loop while we’re away from the office, we can have our work e-mails connected to our devices, we can keep on top of projects while we’re on holiday. There are so many possibilities thanks to these little gadgets we carry around with us all the time. Read on to find out how 3CX’s Mobile Device Manager can help you keep on top of company devices, or how it can be used for personal uses.

Description: First and foremost, this is clearly an application designed for those in the business world. It’s designed to keep in contact with a number of devices, all accessed via the web with just an account name and a password. You can use this to send messages to the devices, lock them, remotely wipe them, install and manage apps and more. This is the sort off app that you’d use if you were rolling out a “bring your own device” sort of business network. With 3CX, you can push apps to your employee’s devices, send them individual messages, track them down and it doesn’t matter whether they have a Sony, Samsung, HTC or Motorola device – as long as it’s Android. With the 3CX Mobile Device Manager you can manage up to 5 devices for free, all from one web page.

How it Works: To get started, you need to head on over to www.mobiledevicemanager.com and set up an account, it’s quick and easy though, so don’t worry:

What is good, is that everything is laid out for you, including how to get the app set-up on your device:

Once you have the app installed on your Android smartphone, you’ll have to wait for it to connect:

For the most part though, you’ll be interacting with the website, which is a great portal into these devices. You’ll see these devices once you log in online:

That there is my Xperia Z. From the web portal, you can perform of a number of things. Such as finding out where the phone is via GPS and Google Maps:

The address listed above is not 100% accurate, it’s the wrong side of the street but, other than that it’s spot on. You don’t have to worry about this being inaccurate, it’s as accurate as your Android device is and the maps are straight from Google, so we know they’re good. Sending a message is one of the features I thought to be quite good, because you don’t need to remember a phone number, and you can easily send a message to multiple devices from one web page:

Once you send this, it will appear on the device you chose to send it to:

There are so many things that this has to offer, it gives you all of the tools you need and then lets you take care of all the rest.

Opinion: For me, this sort of thing makes a lot of sense. All of the tools that a business might need are right here. Let’s say that you have a lot of mobile salesmen, this is a great way to keep in touch with them while there on the road, you can use the map feature to direct them to their nearest client. Sending messages and Web URLs is great as well, you could use this to send them a quick message concerning sales or a system issue, or a web URL to a newly listed product for them to push. This is just one example but, 3CX have given you all of the tools at your disposal. Even for someone like me, that works from home, if I lose my device, I could send the device a message with my landline number, or wipe it if I believe it be in the wrong hands.

Ratings

Speed (4/5) – Setting everything up on the web is quick but, the app took some time to connect. After that though, everything was fine.

Features (5/5) – Regardless of whether or not you’ll be using this for a business, or for personal use, all of the tools you might need are right here included in the app at your fingertips.

Theme (3.5/5) – Overall, the app and the website look good enough, the website looks a little sparse but, it’s easy enough to use and everything works well.

Overall (4.5/5) – While this is definitely not an app that everyone can use, all of the tools are at your disposal, and there’s a lot that you can do with the app, it’s great for businesses small or large.

Pros

For device admins, there’s a lot on offer, from the GPS tracking, to the ability to push apps to the devices.

You can manage numerous devices from just one webpage.

The messages might seem insignificant but, you can send a message to an employee or colleague, without needing their number, and without invading their privacy.

There’s no need for a super-fast 4G connection for each of the devices.

Cons

Android app did take some time to connect.

A walkthrough of the features and uses would be helpful for those not particularly “tech-savvy”

Conclusion: Thanks to the great range of tools and services that 3CX have bundled into their Mobile Device Manager, I can see so many different uses for so many different businesses and people. For me, I’d probably only use the ability to find my phone, and maybe get it back to me, or wipe it when worst comes to worst. Businesses though, will have far more use for such a service, you could manage a number of corporate devices from any web browser, and you can send messages, find out where they are and more. Overall, 3CX Mobile Device Manager is a great service that you’ll find a lot of value in, especially when you consider that you can manage up to 5 devices for free. Sign up here for free.